Creating New Pathways to Leadership for Women

As a company, the “why” we are in business is deeply rooted in our mission — to improve health and improve lives. We know what we want to achieve and how we want to achieve it. Our goals are ambitious. But everything about our success and our ability to deliver — the why, the what and the how — depends on our people.

In business terms, employees are a company’s greatest asset. They are the source of its differentiation, its innovation and its future growth. “We are strongest as a company when all our employees can contribute to their fullest potential,” says Glenn Eisenberg, LabCorp’s chief financial officer. “An inclusive, high-performing culture — one that values diversity across age, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, experiences and more — amplifies a company’s ability not only to succeed, but to rise far above its competitors.”

As part of a broader commitment to create an environment that is inclusive of all employees, LabCorp has intensified its focus on gender diversity. Last year the company charged its global talent management team to create a comprehensive strategy that more fully leverages the capabilities of the company’s women leaders, encourages women to grow their careers at LabCorp, and enhances the company’s reputation for attracting, developing and promoting high-performing women.

“Our goal is to position the company and its employees for greater success by taking purposeful action to create the change we want to see,” said Lisa Uthgenannt, chief human resources officer. “Through our Women in Leadership initiative we are being more intentional about supporting women in the company and creating new pathways for them to advance their careers.”

As executive co-sponsors for the Women in Leadership program, Glenn and Lisa are bringing greater focus and visibility to the efforts underway to support the continued growth and development of women across the company. Their involvement includes engaging with women leaders across the company to hear what we are doing well and what needs improvement, providing guidance and oversight to the project team, and ensuring that gender-diversity remains an active topic of discussion at the highest levels of the company.

Bringing the Women in Leadership initiative to life requires a disciplined framework and a multi-faceted approach. Leading the effort is Michelle Amador, director of global talent management at LabCorp. “We are currently focusing on three primary areas,” explains Michelle. “First, we will continue our focus on building a pipeline of strong women leaders and finding different ways to attract talented women to the company at all levels. Second, we have to deliver substantial opportunities for professional development. And third, we must foster an environment that promotes networking and engagement — both with one another, and with senior leaders across the company.”

Creating the Pipeline

Building a strong pipeline of diverse leaders starts with having a slate of diverse candidates.

Our recruiting team continues to find new and creative ways to attract talent to meet the evolving needs of our organization. This will continue to be a key priority for LabCorp.

Development Opportunities

Providing targeted learning opportunities for women to further develop their leadership skills is an important component to preparing them for senior roles. LabCorp recently introduced the WIN LEADERSHIP® Experience, initially identifying women in senior roles who have demonstrated outstanding performance and strong leadership potential, to participate. This highly interactive program is specifically designed to help attendees expand their leadership impact, strategically direct and attain their career goals, engage with senior leadership, and strengthen connections across LabCorp’s global community of successful women.

The company also plans to launch an additional leadership development program, Ignite Your Impact℠, targeting women in mid-management roles. Pending a successful pilot of this virtual and interactive program in September, additional sessions will be available in 2019.

Executive Networking

LabCorp is also assisting women leaders in developing their careers by facilitating more forums for women to share their perspectives and experiences with each other and with the executive team. New initiatives include Executive Listening sessions, whereby small groups of women meet with senior executives to discuss ongoing challenges and opportunities; and Meet & Greet sessions, whereby individual women are able to meet one-one-one with chief executive officer Dave King and other senior executives to discuss career goals and explore options to expand their leadership experiences.

Looking Forward

With initial efforts underway, more is planned for the future. Using a flexible design, and a comprehensive approach, we will scale and adapt our efforts to support changing business needs. The goal is to create an inclusive environment that leverages the diverse skills, insights and experiences of our women leaders.

“Over time we plan to expand our efforts and broaden our reach, and to provide greater exposure, support and growth opportunities for the women of LabCorp,” says Michelle. “We are on an exciting journey, and this is just the beginning.”